Barbecue and Southern Foodways

The pig has always been an important staple food in the South.
Fatback, bacon, and lard season most traditionally prepared
vegetables, and pork in some form or another appears on most
Southern tables. The cultural importance of barbecue in Southern
foodways, however, lies preeminently in its roots in festival and
social ritual. The rites and customs which surround the
preparation and consumption of barbecue today have roots in the
cultural history of the South, with implications for traditional
views of race relations, sex roles, and the formation of social
relationships in the South. Decisions about food support
political and social opportunities (Hilliard 95). One
historian
speculates that the slow-cooking method of barbecue stems from a
long tradition of general slowness in the South, (Bass 311), and maybe that is the reason
that the South has been slow to abandon its traditional foodways.
Other theories include the relative poverty of the South compared
to the rest of the region, and a resulting reliance on familiar
(and easily and cheaply procured) foods. Slow-cooking methods
can transform tough and stringy meats and vegetables into
delicious meals, and canning and preserving bountiful summer
foodstuffs is an economical Southern custom. Cooking with pork
adds
flavor without expensive seasoning. The Depression which
enveloped the United States in the mid-twentieth century was
nothing new for most Southerners-- poverty was a way of life for
many Southerners long before it affected the rest of the
country.

Another reason for the strong tradition inherent in Southern
cooking is the emphasis on tradition in most aspects of Southern
culture. Most Southerners are proud of their traditions-- for
hospitality, for strong family ties, and for a lavishly laid
table. John Egerton expresses this beautifully in the preface to
his book on Southern food:

For as long as there has been a South, and people who think
of themselves as Southerners, food has been central to the
region's image, its personality and its character . . . . Accents
and attitudes and life-styles may change, but fondness for
Southern food persists; for many people it lingers in the mind
and on the tongue as vividly as the tantalizing aroma of barbecue
on the pit hangs in the air and penetrates to the core of thought
and remembrance(2).

The specific foodways imposed on the South by a combination of
geographical isolation and economic privation have continued into
the twentieth century not only because of the persistence of
these two factors, but because to many Southerners, these foods
bespeak home, family and regional identity. Simmering vegetables
for hours on the back of the stove made sense in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries-- the stove was already lit, and the
cook could tend to her many other chores without worrying about
the greens and fatback (or butter beans or stewed corn or other
vegetables). They would peacefully simmer at low heat, and would
provide a meal (along with some biscuits or cornbread) when her
other chores were finished. Today, this method is not
convenient, but it persists. When Georgia Brown's, a
restaurant specializing in Southern food in Washington D.C.,
started serving collard greens that were cooked quickly to retain
crispness and nutrients, patrons complained. Now, the restaurant
serves collards both ways. Obviously, convenience is not the
main factor in food preparation in the South anymore-- memory and
tradition dictate some food choices.

Barbecue and Southern Traditions

When considering barbecue, tradition is particularly
important. Barbecue is not easy to prepare-- it requires hours
of tending a hot smoky fire, and vigilant monitoring of the
roasting meat. Few people would choose to spend their time in a
covered shack, inundated with smoke (especially during the
blazing summers of the South). But barbecue endures. Despite
encroaching health regulations, despite inconvenience, and
despite the prevalence of fast food restaurants all over the
country, people still eat barbecue, and "pit men" still hone
their craft.

The "pit men" who painstakingly tend the fire and smoke the
meat that becomes barbecue are usually older black men, sometimes
moonlighting from day jobs as farmers or agricultural workers (Zobel 61). Unlike most food preparation
in the South, which is dominated by women, barbecue is a male
preserve